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What is your consul­ting exper­tise? I have been active in the field of project manage­ment as a project manager, coach, trainer and consul­tant since 1992. I have expe­ri­ence in a wide variety of projects, both in the public and the private sector. In my latest long-term assign­ment I was respon­sible for the impro­ve­ment of the project manage­ment profes­sion within ASML, a Dutch high-tech company. Recently, I finished writing a book on project manage­ment for Noord­hoff Publishers, the largest Dutch educa­tional publisher.

What moti­vates you to do extreme sports? In the summer of 2016, I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw: an aging work­a­holic with an aging body, too. I realised that some­thing had to change, so I decided to start running. But the deci­sion itself wasn’t enough. The only way to really change the status quo was with a strong focus. So I needed a goal and decided to run a mara­thon. I chose the Rotterdam mara­thon, which took place nine months later. I quit drin­king, ate fewer carbs, and hired a coach and a physio­the­ra­pist. I ran 728km, lost 10kg, recup­erated from three inju­ries, and ran the mara­thon in 5 hours 22 minutes. Some­thing that seemed nearly impos­sible in July was accom­plished in April. Somehow I was not satis­fied enough, and decided to run another mara­thon, and be faster. I signed up for the Berlin mara­thon in September 2018. But for some reason, another mara­thon didn’t seem to be such an inte­re­sting chal­lenge anymore. I was watching an Ironman because I knew one of the parti­ci­pants, and I realised I had found my next ulti­mate chal­lenge. I started trai­ning for the full triathlon in 2020. I started without any swim­ming or cycling expe­ri­ence, so there is some work to do. I train 10-12 hours per week now and I love it (though not always).

How does this relate to the consul­ting world? Both a mara­thon and a triathlon can be seen as projects. Focus on the objec­tive is crucial. Without dedi­ca­tion and disci­pline, nothing can be accom­plished. Along the way, things happen, inju­ries and time-issues, like risks in any project… and in the end, it is all about the right mindset. For each project, the right mindset is the vaguest yet most important success factor.